Windows Forms for mobile development Tautvydas Dagys 2009

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Windows Mobile Development Tools? Challenges? Emulators? Device differences? Windows forms for mobile?

Windows Forms

Windows Forms Development Drag and drop controls from the toolbox to the visible form in the Forms Designer Consider different screen orientations

Handling Device Differences Windows Mobile platform & tools Win32 provides consistent APIs across devices .NET Compact Framework provides consistent runtime Also provides specific support for adjusting display Docking & Anchoring, AutoScroll, and AutoScale Native provides DeviceResolutionAware.h Over 20 functions & macros for adjusting application display Visual Studio 2008 Integrated orientation & form factor design-time support Wide variety of emulators At least one for each supported form factor

Handling Device Differences – Plan of Action Supporting device differences is fundamental Decide minimum device profile you wish to support Touch-screen required? Phone required? Keyboard required? Abstract application logic from device differences Separate user interface & application logic as possible Test across different device types early and often Take advantage of emulators Incorporate features from newer platforms / devices Provide better user experience Avoid targeting lowest common denominator Downgrade gracefully for older or more basic devices

Don’t think PocketPC vs Smartphone Windows Mobile devices are converging Applications shouldn’t focus on Pocket PC vs Smartphone The differences between each are becoming subtle Many Pocket Pcs have phone support Smartphone screen sizes are increasing All Windows Mobile devices now have soft-keys Both PPC & Smartphone may have full keyboard Think in terms of touch-screen support Does your app expect stylus-based input? Can your app be used easily with navigation control & soft-keys? Does your app require hand-writing support?

Create auto upgrade applications Create basic nontouch-screen layout Determine device touch-screen support on startup Create additional controls when on touch-screen device Don’t over do it Focus on easier ways to perform existing features Avoid introducing entirely new features Be careful not to change UI too much Should still feel like the same application

Battery Friendly Development Win Mobile devices are very powerful However, they are useless with empty batteries Decreasing the used power means increasing the battery life Don’t do anything unless it is absolutely necessary! When interacting with the user, an application is free to consume as much as necessary Reducing the “necessary” amount is what performance optimization is all about In the background, it should consume very little memory, and ZERO battery power

Simple ways to increase battery life Don’t use the processor Disable radio’s when not needed Absolutely don’t use the processor when the application is in the background Don’t use polling at any time Limit application functionality when the battery level is low Don’t keep the backlight on

Standard vs Professional Windows Mobile Standard Device can either be on or off When off nothing works Windows Mobile Professional Device can be in suspend mode (sleep) Separate state between on and suspend, called unattended When the device seems off it is probably asleep

Using Power Manager OS Component responsible for meeting the power needs of system Application interface Allows communication of power needs Allows notification of power events Device interface Allows drivers to request a change to their power state Allows PM to set device power state

Demo

References http://msdn.microsoft.com/en- us/windowsmobile/default.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en- us/rampup/dd807370.aspx

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